Text PreviewIslam, in Arabic, means “submission.” Islam teaches submission to God, or “Allah” in Arabic. Before Islam began and revolutionized the Arab world, Arabia was a tribal, desert environment with no single political organization or faith. The majority of its inhabitants were pastoral nomads organized by tribe and clan, who fought with one another for access to precious resources such as water, herds, and land. Before the advent of Islam, most Arabs worshipped a variety of male and female deities. Only a minority, who were neither Christians nor Jews, were monotheists. Between the 600 and 700 centuries Islam emerged and became a major turning point in world history.

Before Muslims inhabited the Middle East, it was dominated by the Sassanian and Byzantine empires. The Byzantine Empire was centered in Constantinople and controlled the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. The Sassanian Empire was centered at Ctesiphon and ruled over the Tigris-Euphrasian valleys. According to Conwell and Livingston, the two states had hostility towards one another because one was Christian with a Greco-Roman culture, and the other Zoroastrian with Peso-Mesopotamian traditions. Between A.D 603 and 629 these empires fought many wars and were left vulnerable to an approaching storm in the desert . The tribes inhabiting the desert lacked many sources of water that would allow for bigger cities and civilizations. One city Mecca flourished as a trading center in the seventh century, but the region generally lacked the governmental institutions and the powerful emperors that supported emergence of major religions1. Arabia during this time was still religiously polytheistic, worshipping many Gods and Deities. The city of Mecca housed the Ka’ aba, which was a rectangular building, that was home to the sacred tokens of the Meccan and surrounding clans. Mecca was also a central trade and pilgrimage point in the area, which brought enormous economic benefits to the controlling Quraysh tribes....
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...Muhammad is the founder the religion of Islam. Muhammad is also the last prophet of the religion of Islam. He became a prophet through the angel Gabriel, who expressed God's will to Muhammad. Muhammad taught people that there is only one God and that Allah. Many people became followers of Muhammad's teachings and prayers, they became know as Muslims. Muhammad left his homeland Mecca and made a pilgrimage to Medina. On is way to Median, he attracted many followers of Islam. This journey became known as the Hijrah. Muhammad's teachings and prayers were all compiled into the holy book of Islam called the Qu'ran. The Five Pillars are the major beliefs of Islam. The Five Pillars include faith (faith in one god, Allah), prayer, Alms (give to charity), fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Muhammad's good examples became known as the Sunna and the Shari'a is the body of law for all Muslims.
After Muhammad's death, the spread of Islam reached new heights. Muhammad died in 632 A.D. Abu-Bakr became the Muslim ruler, or caliph, after Muhammad's death. The next three caliphs were Umar, Uthman, and Ali. The caliphs helped spread Islam by expanding the Muslim territory. They conquered Syria, lower Egypt, parts of Persia, etc. They built a strong Muslim military. After the death of the last caliph, Ali, the Umayyad dynasty came into power. The Umayyad dynasty didn't do much to spread...

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Islam has made many contributions to world history, both in its rise and development of a bright and complex culture. More specifically Islam has contributed to the world of modern science, medicine, literature and visual arts, greatly influencing other cultures along the way. Along with contributions to science and intellect, Islam has also contributed to world trade. Each contribution from the Islamic nation has helped shape the world today, moreover Islam has helped advance existing ideas and also created new ones necessary for understand the world. Islam has greatly assisted in shaping modern ideas, and has been rich and sturdy enough to be still a great influence today, making it a key contributor to world history.
Islam is the Muslim religion that believes in the prophecies of Muhammad, the messenger of Allah. The rise of the religion of Islam happened over the period 600 – 900 CE., where “two Arab dynasties, the Umayyads succeeded by the Abbasids, built a vast empire stretching thousands of miles”1. The vastness of their empire encouraged many states to share a single religion, which was Islamic. As the Islamic religious civilization developed it found “influences from Christian theology, Roman and Jewish law, Greek philosophy, as well as Persian and...

...The Rise of Islam
AP World History
The Arabs
• Semitic speaking people
of the Middle East
• Nomads who moved
regularly to find water
and food
• Settled in the Arabian
peninsula
– desert land
– lack of rivers and lakes
The Arabs
• Organized into independent
clans/tribes to help one
another with the harsh
environment
• Each tribe had a sheikh
• Developed the caravan trade
and were major carriers of
trade from the Persian Gulf
to the Mediterranean Sea
• Conflict over water &
pasture land w/warrior
culture
The Arabs
• Early Arabs were
polytheistic
• Allah (Arabic for
“God”) was
worshipped as a
supreme god over
other gods
• Each tribe had a
sacred stone that was
worshipped as a
symbol of Allah
The Arabs
• Mecca grew as a result of the
caravan trade and the worship
of the Black Stone (meteorite)
in a central shrine called the
Ka’bah
• Tensions arose between
Bedouins & the wealthier
merchants from Mecca
• Umayyad tribe controlled
Mecca (monotheistic believed in Allah)
The Life of
Muhammad
Early Life
• Born in Mecca in 570 A.D. to a merchant
family
• Was an orphan, but grew up to become a
caravan manager; contact with Jews &
Christians
• Married a rich widow named Khadija;
bothered by class inequalities & rivalries
• Experienced visions and was visited by the
angel Gabriel
• Came to believe that he received the final
revelations of Allah (God)
Early Spread of Islam
• His followers (only 30) were
persecuted so he leaves on...

...CHAPTER 9
The Sasanid Empire and the Rise of Islam, 200–1200
I. The Sasanid Empire, 224–651
A. Politics and Society
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2. The Iranian hinterland was ruled by a largely autonomous local aristocracy that did not, however, pose a threat to the stability of the Sasanid Empire.
3. The Silk Road brought new products to the Sasanid Empire, including a number of crops from India and China.
B. Religion and Empire
1. The Sasanid Empire made Zoroastrianism its official religion. The Byzantine Empire made Christianity its official religion. Both Zoroastrianism and Christianity were intolerant of other religions. State sponsorship of Zoroastrianism and Christianity set a precedent for the link that developed between the Islamic religion and the Islamic state.
2. The Byzantine and Sasanid Empires were characterized by state involvement in...

...The Rise Of Islam: Reasons For it’s Success
* The twenty first century recognizes Islam as the second largest religion in the world. The initial rise of Islam in the 7th century in the city of Mecca, modern day Saudi Arabia, was extensive and rapid. In its first few centuries Islam spread as far as the west near the Atlantic Ocean and Far East in Asia. To deduce why Islam’s initial expansion was so successful and rapid calls for an understanding of three major factors, the life the pioneer of Islam Mohammed, Islam’s innate tolerance, and the concept of jihad.
* Much of what actually made Islam’s expansion strong and successful can be credited to the prophet Mohammed. Learning from life experiences and the world around him Mohammad was able to give Islam its core values and content. His life experiences and personality are said to be the foundation and backbone of Islam, as well as a key factor to its nearly invisible expansion. Muhammad was born in 570 CE and became an orphan at a young age. His experiences being impoverished and orphaned in a society that heavily relied on family tribal relations greatly influenced his desire to make his followers accountable for the economic welfare of all community members, not just family. There are many quaranic verses that exemplify this humility, for example “And they give food in spite...

...﻿THE RISE OF ISLAM AND THE ISLAMIC LITERATURE
Origins of IslamIslam was a religion founded in the 7th Century AD by Muhammad, an Arabian merchant from the City of Mecca.
Islam is a monotheistic religious tradition that developed in the Middle East during 570 CE, which literally means “surrender” or “submission” to the will of Allah, who is the creator and sustainer of the world.
Two Divisions:
Sunni - translated variously as the “Trodden Path,” “the way,” “example,” or “habitual practice,” it refers to the example or path of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers.
Shi’a – means a group or supportive party of people.
One of the unifying characteristics of Islam is the Five Pillars, the fundamental practices of Islam. These five practices include a ritual profession of faith, ritual prayer, the zakat (charity), fasting, and the hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca).
Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem
Sacred places of Islam.
641 CE
Muslims enter Egypt and conquered the Byzantine Army
Byzantine Army evolved from late Roman Empire
655 CE
Islam begins to spread into North Africa
Islam expanded almost immediately beyond its birthplace in the Arabian Peninsula, and now has significant influence in Africa, throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
The world of Islam came to be divided between the Ottomans in the West, the Safavids...

...The rise and expansion of Islam has had a significant impact on the role and rights of women throughout history. Since its origin in the seventh century until modern times, the Muslim faith has somewhat broadened, but has mostly restricted women’s rights in numerous Islamic communities. The history of Muslim women is complex, as it involves many advances and declines in numerous locations, such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iran, concerning several subjects, including both civil and social rights. Thus, in general, the rights of Islamic women did not improve significantly over time, instead, conditions remained the same or became worse for women as Islam evolved and spread as a world religion.
*
From the beginning of Islam, women were somewhat equal, but society was still mainly patriarchal. Sections of the Quran state that both women and men are both believers in Allah, regardless of gender, but they should also be protected so that they will not be hurt (Doc 1). Muhammad also had equal views of men and women, as many strong women during his time, including his wife Khadijah, played important roles in the development of Islam (Doc 2). This excerpt from a widely used world history textbook can be trusted as an accurate source because the author, Peter Stearns, is an educated, well-known professor proficient in his studies. However, according to Document 3, men were still seen as superior to women, and...

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When...